Many people including myself and many readers of this site would say we do ‘functional fitness’. We use the phrase almost without thinking, but most people have never heard of it and it must sound very odd. This thought struck me as I was watching a climbing film, Alistair Lee’s Onsight where one interviewee comments that [...]

Unilateral exercises are, quite simply, exercises done on one side only, such as single leg squats or one arm dumbbell presses. Most exercises that you do in the gym have a single-side option. Why do unilateral exercises? Many of the best functional strength and conditioning coaches advocate unilateral work: “Most athletes and people in general [...]

Some of you may have come across this neat little product before: it is an interval timer for use during workouts. You can set the timer to go off at regular intervals, such as every minute. This would allow you, for example, to do a circuit that involved changing exercises every minute without having to [...]

People often go on about how much crap there is on the internet, especially when it comes to strength training. But amongst all the rubbish are some real gems, and I will be highlighting my favourite sites on here from time to time. To start with, here are five sites you’ll love if you have [...]

I like going to the gym, but sometimes I wish I could have my own gym at home. A power rack in the basement, a pull-up bar in the lounge, maybe some gymnastic rings and a rope on the tree outside. Except that I don’t have a basement. Or a garden, let alone a tree. [...]

Explosive strength is often neglected in the gym. If you think dumbells are only good for arm and shoulder exercises, think again. The swing is superb for leg strength and hip extension. Do something different in the gym today! What is the dumbbell swing? The dumbbell swing is an ‘old school’ exercise. It is similar [...]

Learn the one-arm dumbbell snatch to develop explosive power and speed. Step-by-step instructions, photos and videos.

Mine do! I was thinking about this today as I was on my way to the gym to make another attempt on Ross Training’s 100 burpee challenge (that’s burpees with press-ups, of course). I know that it’s going to hurt, I know that it’s going to make me feel nauseous and I know that it’s [...]

If you are after all-round strength, it’s important to understand the different types of strength – or even that there are different types of strength. It will help you to pin down what kind of training you need to do to reach your goals. It will also help you to cut through the crap when [...]